Profile

Michael J. Stump

Practice Areas

Agricultural Law
Business, Corporate, and Partnership Transactions
Business Litigation
Construction Law
Environmental & Zoning Law
Errors & Omissions
Estate & Tax Planning
General & Civil Law
Healthcare Law
Real Estate Law
Regulatory and Administrative Law

Office

Bakersfield, CA

Phone

(661) 322-3051

Email

mstump@bortonpetrini.com

Fax

(661) 322-4628

Michael J. Stump is a Partner in the Bakersfield Office of Borton Petrini, LLP. He was raised in the Central Valley and attended high school in Lodi, California. He engaged in his undergraduate studies at the California State University, Fresno and University of California at Davis where he graduated in 1993.

After a year of construction-related employment following graduation from U.C. Davis, he attended law school and obtained a Juris Doctor degree in 1997 from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, California and was admitted to the California State Bar in December of 1997.

He is licensed to practice law in all of the State Courts of the State of California and admitted to the United States District Court for the Eastern and Southern Districts of California. Michael is also licensed to practice law in the States of Idaho and Nebraska.

As a Bakersfield attorney, Michael has a general civil business litigation practice. He has represented clients in jury trials, court trials, mediation and binding arbitration hearings in state court.

He also has experience representing clients in connection with contractual arbitration proceedings and has served as trial counsel for several jury trials involving complex civil litigation matters. In the course of his civil litigation practice as a Bakersfield attorney, he has handled the defense of farmers, manufacturers, and businesses and has extensive experience in matters involving claims of subsurface trespass.

Michael is well-versed in matters of corporate law, including the formation of legal entities such as corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships. His litigation experience serves as a foundation for these transactional skills as he has had the opportunity to defend contracts and agreements tested by parties litigating their differences in court.

Michael also has experience as a Bakersfield attorney in partnership dissolution and legal disputes arising between partners and business associates. His diversified practice sees him representing farmers in the development of commercial photovoltaic power generation facilities, and, as part of a litigation team, successfully defending a large Kern County beekeeper sued in Nebraska.

He also has a substantial civil appellate practice, including research, brief writing, and appellate motion practice including complex legal issues of first impression. He handles matters on appeal before the California State Courts of Appeal and California Supreme Court.

In 2003, he was admitted to practice appellate law in and before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and he handles federal appellate matters.

While in law school, he served as an extern for The Honorable Justice Miriam Shearing on the Nevada Supreme Court and as an extern for The Honorable Donald S. Mitchell with the San Francisco Superior Court.

Michael is an active member of the Kern County Bar Association and volunteers his time for the Kern County Probation Department, Moot Court Program, and is trained and appointed as a Temporary Judge by the Kern County Superior Court. He is actively involved in his community.

Michael is married to Jillian Fritch-Stump, and together they have two children, Jessica and Charles. He spends his free time with his family and enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, hiking, and fishing. He and his family attend St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bakersfield.

Education

The University of California, Davis, Bachelor of Arts, American Studies, 1993
The University of California, Hastings College of Law, Juris Doctor, 1997

Admitted

State Bar of California, 1997
The United States District Court, Eastern District of California, 1998
The United States District Court, Southern District of California, 2009
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2003
The State Bar of Idaho, 2012
The United States District Court, District of Idaho, 2012
The State Bar of Nebraska, 2015
The United States District Court, District of Nebraska, 2016

Business and Professional Associations

The Kern County Bar Association
Judge Pro Tem, Kern County Superior Court
Idaho Bar Association
The Nebraska Bar Association
Member of the Business Law Section of the California State Bar